Last February 15th, the Indigenous Community of Puerto Esperanza, Atalaya, Ucayali, received a Forest Stewardship Council – FSC.

The certification was presented during an event attended by the Boards of Directors and leaders of the Federation of Ashéninka Communities of Atalaya – FECONAPA, with high expectations. This document not only ratifies their commitment towards the conservation and sustainable management of their forests, but also entails the expectation of obtaining better incomes for their timber sales and improvement of their livelihoods.

According to Oscar Vásquez, Head of the Indigenous Community of Puerto Esperanza, the FSC certification is a reminder to them of the decision made by the community to never work with illegal loggers. He said: “We will place this certification in our communal hall to raise awareness regarding the special value of our forest, which is recognized worldwide; thus, we are not giving it away like other communities”.
This certification awarding has been presented in a moment, in which the population is nearly to consolidate a timber sale of around half million of soles, corresponding to their Annual Operating Plan.

Puerto Esperanza is a community of the Ashéninka ethnic group, which is becoming a reference regarding community forest management alongside private companies. They are currently scaling up their scope against the threat of illegal timber industries and illegal timber trade, which have impoverished communities and reduced forestry wealth of Peru, during decades.
This innovative way of doing businesses has been conceived and implemented through the assistance of the Living Amazon Project, financed by the European Union and WWF Germany, and implemented in Peru by WWF Perú, DAR, TRAFFIC y SNV. Also, in Colombia by CorpoAmazonía, WWF Colombia and Sinchi.